US federal judge blocks Trump asylum claim restrictions

Central American migrants traveling to the US rest in a park in Mexicali, Baja California State, Mexico. — AFP/VNA Photo Viet Nam News WASHINGTON — A US federal judge temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s administration from denying asylum to people who enter the country illegally, prompting the president to allege on Tuesday that the court was biased against him. Trump issued the proclamation earlier this month, citing “national security” concerns, as a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants made its way through Mexico toward the US border. The order said that only those who enter the US at official checkpoints — as opposed to sneaking across the border — can apply for asylum. But US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order against the Trump proclamation, thus granting a request from human rights groups that had sued shortly after the order was announced. “It’s a disgrace,” Trump said, alleging judicial bias and appearing to refer to Tigar — who was appointed by US president Barack Obama — as an “Obama judge.” “We will win that case in the Supreme Court of the United States,” Trump said. Tigar wrote that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 states that any foreigner who arrives in the US, “whether or not at a designated port of arrival,” may apply for asylum. “The rule barring asylum for immigrants who enter the country outside a port of entry irreconcilably conflicts with the INA and the expressed intent of Congress,” Tigar… [Read full story]